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Please join Radius Law and the Motor Ombudsman for our annual automotive law update webinar – on Wednesday, 12th December at 12.30 to 13.30.

At the webinar we will look at the legal changes that are having the biggest impact on the automotive sector now and into 2019.

The topics we will cover include:

· Data Protection – was it a just another Y2K?

· Preparing for the January 2019 vehicle emission rules on showroom and printed materials;

· Distance sales requirements;

· New geo-blocking laws.

This webinar will be streamed live with the opportunity for you to post questions. If you can’t make the time – a recorded version will be available afterwards.

If you’d like to join us and have not already registered, please click here.

The contact details that you provide will be shared with The Motor Ombudsman and Radius Law but will not be transferred to any third parties. Radius Law’s privacy policy can be found here and the privacy policy of the Motor Ombudsman can be found here.

What is WLTP

The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) is a new global test to measure the level of air pollutants, CO2 emissions and energy consumption in cars and vans. It replaces the ‘New’ European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test that has been used for over 20 years.

WLTP has more dynamic and robust testing procedures designed to better reflect real-world driving conditions and produce much more accurate and realistic results.

The challenges

The switch from NEDC to WLTP and RDE is presenting many challenges in the Auto Sector and we have already seen announcements from some manufacturers to expect production delays as a result.

There are plenty of other challenges too:

confusion over the rules – not a big surprise as the WLTP Regulation itself is 600 pages+ and that only gives part of the picture;

information on what the consumer needs to know is sparse with no official guidance yet released – this is already negatively affecting consumers as, inevitably, inconsistent practices of providing information have started to appear;

taxation, we are told, should not change (at least until April 2020) – but will soon be based on an NEDC CO2 equivalent value using the CO2MPAS tool and there are reports that it is producing a higher than expected CO2 - potentially putting the same vehicle in two different tax bands depending on when it is purchased

Time-line of key changes*

September 2018 – all new cars must be certified according to the WLTP test procedure – but there will be some limited exceptions for unsold stock;

January 2019 – consumer information to show WLTP fuel and electricity consumption values plus electric ranges. The NEDC CO2 emission value will continue to be presented, rather than the WLTP CO2.

April 2020 – consumer information to switch to WLTP CO2

April 2020 - taxation will switch to adopting the WLTP CO2

* Van time-line is different.

These are challenges that impact the whole industry from manufacturers, to retailers, to leasing companies and suppliers. The advice needed is the same and we believe that working collaboratively will bring consumer benefits particularly with the presentation of consumer information.

To this end we would like to establish a WLTP working group. The working group members will have access to:

bi-monthly meetings from September 2018 to May 2020;

results/ guidance on detailed research points highlighted by group members (each meeting we will agree up to 5 detailed research points).

We will set a meeting agenda – but will make this reflective of the information that you want to know about - so we welcome you sending us agenda items of interest to you.

Whether you are a member of the WLTP working group or not -we’d be pleased to separately provide tailored WLTP guidance for your business.

Costs

The subscription costs for the WLTP working group are £300 per company per month – to May 2020. This permits 1 person from each company to attend the bi-monthly meetings (additional attendees at a reduced cost);

Alternatively, companies may subscribe for 1 month at a time for £500 per month.

Meeting dates

Venue to be confirmed (dial-in will also be available) – times: 10.00 to 12.00

· Thursday 13th September 2018

· Thursday 15th November 2018

· Wednesday 16th January 2019

· Wednesday 13th March 2019

· Wednesday 15th May 2019

· Wednesday 17th July 2019

· Wednesday 18th September 2019

· Wednesday 13th November 2019

· Wednesday 15th January 2020

· Wednesday 11th March 2020

· Wednesday 13th May 2020

Why choose Radius to help?

Radius Law is an automotive specialist law firm and therefore the big issues that affect the industry are important to us. Radius Law is a member of LowCVP so is now in attendance at committee meetings with the key stakeholders developing the rules and, in a position, to put forward your views and concerns as the guidance develops.